For the Lord shall have mercy on Jacob: to keep for them the promise of their redemption from Babylonia.

and again choose Israel: in the future, He shall redeem them with a complete redemption.

and join: And they shall be added on. Comp. (I Sam. 2: 36) “Take me now into… (סָפְחֵנִי) ” and also (ibid. 27:19) “From cleaving to the Lord’s heritage (מֵהִסְתַּפֵּחַ).”

2And peoples shall take them and bring them to their place, and the House of Israel shall inherit them on the soil of the Lord, for slaves and maidservants, and they shall be captors to their captors and rule over those who dominate over them.

toward your arrival: When you descend to Gehinnom, and what is the quaking? To arouse toward you…

giants: Heb. רְפָאִים, the giants lying there.

all the chiefs of the earth: [lit. the he-goats.] All the kings of the nations, the princes, and the princesses, are compared by Scripture, to bulls, to cows, and to he-goats. Comp. (Psalms 22:13) “Bulls surrounded me.” Also (Amos 4:1): “The cows of the Bashan that were on Mt. Shomron,” and here he compares them to he-goats.

he caused to rise: he threw

from their thrones: [i.e.,] the messenger of Gehinnom caused all the kings of the nations [to rise] from their thrones. [according to mss. and Shem Ephraim]

10All of them shall speak up and say to you, 'Have you too become weak like us? Have you become like us?'

the stirring of your psalteries: The psalteries and harps that used to play before you. It is also possible to interpret, הֶמְיַתנְבָלֶי as, the stirring of the wanton ones, who commit wanton acts, of your armies, and it seems to me that in the great Masorah, this was combined with (Amos 5:21) “The song of your psalteries,” in the aleph-beth of two meanings.

12How have you fallen from heaven, the morning star? You have been cut down to earth, You who cast lots on nations.

the morning star: This is Venus, which gives light as the morning star, הֵילֵל being derived from יהל, to shed light. This is the lamentation over the heavenly prince of Babylon, who will fall from heaven.

You have been cut down to earth: You, Nebuchadnezzar, who would cast lots on nations. You would cast lots on them, on the kings, who of them would serve you on such and such a day, and who on such and such a day. Our Rabbis, however, expounded this to mean that he would cast lots on the kings for purposes of pederasty.

13And you said to yourself, 'To the heavens will I ascend, above God's stars will I raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of the assembly, in the farthest end of the north.

he did not open the house: Heb. בָּיְתָה. He did not open their house of imprisonment to release them all the days of their lives, to allow them to go to their home. Every word that requires a ‘lammed’ at the beginning Scripture placed a ‘heh’ to it at the end.

like a despised sapling: Like a sapling of a tree, which is despised by its owner, who digs it up and uproots it and takes it out. So were you cast out of your grave. The Sages stated (Lev. Rabbah 18:2): When he became an animal and a wild beast for seven years, the populace crowned Evil-Merodach, and when he was restored to his kingdom, he took him and imprisoned him in the dungeon until the day of his death. When he died, they took Evil-Merodach out of prison to crown him king, but he did not accept it upon himself. He said, If he returns to his kingdom, he will kill me. They said to him, He is dead and buried. But he did not believe them until they took him out of his grave and dragged him.

[in] the garb of the slain: With filthy apparel, like that of the slain.

of those pierced by the sword: Heb. מְטֹעֲנֵי, pierced by spears (sic).“Pierced” in Arabic is ‘mut’an.’

who descend to the stones of the pit: to the depths of the pit, the place where stones sink there, you have descended.

like a trampled corpse: Heb. מוּבָס. Jonathan renders: trampled, like (Ps. 44:6), “We will trample (נָבוּס) those who rise up against us” ; (infra verse 25) “And on my mountains I will trample him (אֲבוּסֶנוּ) ” ; (Ezekiel 16:6) “Trampled (מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת) in your blood,” trampled like the mud of the streets.

20You shall not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named forever.

You shall not join them in burial: You shall not be equal to other kings, to rest in your grave.

for you have destroyed your land: with excessive labor, and you have slain your people groundlessly, as it is related in Daniel (2:12): “And he said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.” Therefore, they hated you and treated you with contempt to throw you out of your grave.

the seed of evil doers shall not be named forever: Even your children shall suffer for your iniquities, and they shall not endure long after you, for their enemies will unite against them and destroy them, and they shall say to each other.

21Prepare a slaughter for his sons because of the iniquity of their forefathers, lest they rise and inherit the land, and fill the surface of the earth with enemies."

Prepare a slaughter for his sons: lest they rise and inherit the land, and the land will be filled with enemies and oppressors. So did Jonathan render עָרִים, enemies. Comp. (I Sam. 28:16) “And has become your adversary (עָרֶ).” It can also be interpreted: And fill the surface of the earth with cities. In contrast with what he said before (verse 17): “Who made the land like a desert and demolished his cities,” he says further: His seed shall perish, and the inhabitants of the cities shall return to their place, and the surface of the earth shall be filled with cities.

and a remnant: Heb. שְׁאָר, a remnant.

and a son: Heb. וְנִין, a son ruling in the kingdom of his father.

and a grandson: The son of the son. The son is Belshazzar, and the grandson [or granddaughter in this case] was Vashti.

22"And I will rise against them," says the Lord of Hosts, "and I will cut off from Babylon a name and a remnant, a son and a grandson," says the Lord.

hedgehog: Heb. קִפֹּד [hricon or hericon in O.F.] [In Modern French it is spelled herisson.]

and I will sweep: Heb. וְטִאטֵאתִיהָ, an expression of sweeping [eskober in O.F.], as our Rabbis stated: The Rabbis did not know the meaning of בְּמַטְאֲטֵא הַשְׁמֵד וְטִאטֵאתִיהָ, until they heard [Rabbi’s (R. Judah Hanasi’s) maidservant say to her friend, “Take a broom (מַטְאֲטֵא) and sweep (וְטַאְטְאִי) the house.”]

24The Lord of Hosts swore saying, if not as I thought, so it was, and as I planned, so it shall remain.

Rejoice not, Philistia, all of you: for you have lifted your head during the days of Ahaz, who was wicked, whose wickedness brought about that he was delivered into your hands, as the matter is stated in II Chron. 28:18: “And the Philistines raided the cities of the lowlands…”

that the rod that smote you has been broken: that the kingdom of the House of David, which was wont to smite you, has been weakened and humbled, as we find concerning David, and so, concerning Uzziah, king of Judah, who smote you, as the matter is stated (II Chron. 26:6): “And he went out and fought against the Philistines and breached the wall of Gath.”

for, from the root of a snake: From the root of that snake, shall emanate a venomous serpent, which is more formidable than a snake. Now who was this? This was Hezekiah, concerning whom it is stated (II Kings 18:8): “He slew the Philistines up to Gaza and its boundaries, from watchtower to fortified city.”

and his offspring is a fiery flying serpent: Jonathan renders: And his deeds against you will be like flying snakes.

30And the firstborn of the poor shall graze, and the paupers shall lie in safety, and I will put your root to death through hunger, and he shall slay your remnant.

And the first born of the poor shall graze: In his days, the princes of Israel, who are now poor because of you, shall graze. “Firstborn,” is an expression of princes. Comp. (Ps. 89: 28) “Also, I will appoint him My firstborn.”

31Howl [for the] gate, cry out [for the city]; Philistia has melted, all of you, for from the North smoke has come, and there is no straggler in his ranks.

for from the North smoke has come: Retribution harsh as smoke shall come upon them from the north. Gaza and its boundaries, which Hezekiah smote, were in the south of Eretz Israel in the southwestern corner. Eretz Israel is found to be north of it. And so we find in Sifrei in Ha’azinu 322: They attempted to flee through the south, and they turned them over, as it is stated (Amos 1:6): “For three transgressions of Gaza… [because of their exiling a complete exile to deliver to Edom.]” Hence, we learn that Gaza is on the south.

and there is no straggler in his ranks: Jonathan renders: And there is no straggler among his appointed ones, i.e., in his ranks whom he appointed to come upon them, and no one delays his steps to be secluded and to come in seclusion alone, but all of them shall come as one, with strength.

32Now what shall the messenger of a nation announce? That the Lord has founded Zion, and therein shall the poor of His people shelter themselves.

And what shall the messengers of a nation announce: What shall the messengers of Israel, who go to bring news, announce in the days of Hezekiah? This is what they shall announce: The Lord has founded in Zion; He has set up therein a fitting and powerful king; the Lord is with him.

and therein shall the poor of His people shelter themselves: Even from the ten tribes they would come there, as is related in II Chron. (30:6),"Hezekiah sent messengers throughout the border of Israel, to return to the Holy One, blessed be He.